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Head of Acquisitions

Head of Acquisitions

University of Chicago Library Job Location: Illinois Apply By: Open until filled Date Created: 11-01-2021

Description

The University of Chicago seeks a highly motivated, collaborative, and service-oriented professional to lead the Acquisitions Management Services section. The Acquisitions Management Services section is one of five sections in the Technical Services Department, along with Electronic Resources Management, Metadata Management Services, Serials Management Services, and Data Management Services.  The Head of Acquisitions leads a section of eleven FTE, with responsibility for the ordering and receiving of all monographs in all formats, and from and in all languages, outside of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. This position sets the overall vision and strategic directions for the section, participates in the leadership team for Technical Services, and works collaboratively with colleagues from across the Library. The University of Chicago Library is a member of Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation and the Big Ten Academic Alliance, both of which are developing new programs for shared cooperative collections. The Head of Acquisitions will contribute to these shared efforts, potentially through collections analysis and assessment; identifying prospective areas of growth and collections of distinction; and recommending policies and practices to support share collections.  Additionally, this position will have an opportunity to participate in the development and implementation of resource management functionality in the FOLIO Library Services Platform.   Essential Functions
  • Oversees two units of operation within Technical Services:
    • Monographic Orders, responsible for acquiring library monographs in all formats
    • Receiving & Rapid Cataloging ("RapidCat"), responsible for the receipt and fast cataloging of physical monograph materials
  • Provides account and approval plan management and collection analysis for materials acquired through major booksellers worldwide
  • Participates in the Technical Services leadership team and in strategic planning for resource allocation, policy development, assessment programs, procedural changes, staff development, and organizational change
  • Represents the Library and participates in committees, task forces, and work groups with consortial partners, particularly as they relate to cooperative collection building and collections analysis with the Library’s consortial partners in the Big Ten Academic Alliance and the Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation
  • Researches emerging trends and best practices in collection procurement, continual analysis of the complex supply chains for research libraries, changes in the availability of vended products and services (e.g., cataloging; shelf ready), and serves as a leader enabling the Library's active engagement with vendors, publishers, and scholarly communication communities
  • Works with selectors and analyzes past and prospective acquisitions to provide recommendations for managing and growing the library’s collections, including strategies to enhance diversity and inclusion within the collection
  • Performs contract and license negotiation, as part of a team with the Electronic Resources Management Librarian and the Associate Law Librarian for Technical Services
  • Participates in library-wide, University-wide and divisional committees, task forces, and work groups
 

Qualifications

Required:
  • Master’s degree in library science from an ALA-accredited institution
  • At least three years’ experience managing related operations in an academic library, or associated vendors/suppliers
  • Experience supervising personnel, demonstrating leadership, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
  Preferred:
  • Knowledge of current trends, resources, and business practices related to library acquisitions, including experience with vendors and publishers
  • Knowledge of current issues and trends in scholarly publishing, consortial collection building, and shared collection development and management
  • Experience working with library metadata content standards, including MARC, BIBFRAME, Resource Description & Access (RDA) and the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2)
  • Working knowledge of at least one non-English language
  • Working knowledge of budgeting and accounting practices
  • Professional engagement in acquisitions management at the local, regional, national, and international level
  • Ability to work cooperatively and in a team-oriented environment and to build and maintain effective working relationships with diverse colleagues within the Library, consortial partners, and the acquisitions ecosystem
 

Application Instructions

To Apply: Submit cover letter, curriculum vitae, and reference contact information online through the University of Chicago's Academic Recruiting website: apply.interfolio.com/98019. Review of applications will begin after November 30, 2021. Screening of applications will continue until the position is filled or the search is closed. Salary and Benefits: Appointment salary based on qualifications and experience. Benefits include retirement plan, insurance, and paid time off. Questions: Contact Kara Hastings, HR Generalist, khastings@uchicago.edu

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages diverse perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange. The University’s Statements on Diversity are at https://provost.uchicago.edu/statements-diversity. The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination. Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-1032 or email equalopportunity@uchicago.edu with their request.

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